Lee Brice Enjoys Slow and ‘Crazy’ Climb to Top 10

Lee Brice has spent the last three years pinching himself. After he left Clemson University to pursue his dream of writing and recording country songs, the South Carolina native hit the big time when -- along the way -- artists such as Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney all cut songs Lee had co-written.

In 2007, Lee was signed to Curb Records as an artist. That same year, the song he co-wrote (with Kyle Jacobs and Billy Montana) for Garth Brooks, 'More Than a Memory,' became the fastest rising single in the history of the charts, debuting at No. 1. Lee's current hit song as an artist, 'Love Like Crazy' spent 46 weeks climbing into the Top 10, making it the slowest-rising Top 10 country hit of all time.

The song is currently at No. 6 and now in its 50th week, making it the third longest-running song of all time on the country chart. Should it stay on past 54 weeks (which seems pretty likely at this point), 'Love Like Crazy' will surpass Eddy Arnold's 1948 hit, 'Bouquet of Roses,' for most weeks ever on the chart.

"It's really an honor," Lee tells The Boot. "I guess that's a beautiful, wonderful thing to be on the charts that long. [laughs] I guess it's just the little song that could. 'Love Like Crazy' has really changed my life."

Lee is getting recognition as an artist for 'Love Like Crazy,' whereas before, he was the songwriter. And as a writer finding out that Garth Brooks would be cutting one of his songs, Lee was, understandably, quite ecstatic. "I turned a bunch of cartwheels," he says, likening it to having an out-of-body experience. "That was one of those things, kind of like a dream. To this day, it kind of feels like it was just a dream. It came and went so fast, and sometimes I wonder if it actually happened. (laughs)

Only time will tell if 'Love Like Crazy' makes it to the musical summit -- reaching the coveted No. 1 spot on the charts -- but, nonetheless, Lee's name is already in the record books. And that's the long and short of it.